An independent review team was appointed by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations in January 2016 to review the functions and responsibilities of the Police Division and provide recommendations in light of new demands, evolving mandates and mission environments. The review was prompted by the Secretary- General’s Report “The future of United Nations peace operations: implementation of the recommendations of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations” (A/70/357–S/2015/682).

The review team was co-chaired by the former Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) Hilde F. Johnson and Ambassador Abdallah Wafy, the Permanent Representative of Niger to the United Nations in New York and and former Police Commissioner and subsequently Deputy SRSG with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). The review team was supported by an independent secretariat, managed by the International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT) of the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF).